iRacing Rallycross Race Preview: Daytona
September 21st, 2021 by Chris Leone
After four spring invitational races to help set the stage, the 2021 iRacing Rallycross season proper begins on Wednesday with a visit to Daytona International Speedway. The first of nine rounds for both the World Championship and All-Star Invitational divisions, one of iRacing’s first rallycross circuits launches both divisions into an exciting season. Races will begin at 4PM ET/1PM PT at iRacing.com/live and across a large slate of Facebook, Twitch, and YouTube channels.
Check out the preseason show above and read on for even more information!
World Championship
With four powerful new franchises—Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, Logitech G Altus Esports, Vermont SportsCar, and Elliott Sadler eSports—the iRX WCS field has a slightly different look for 2021, but that look changes even more when you look at the new driver roster. A double-digit rookie class should add plenty of intrigue to what was already an enthralling championship, as do a set of contingency awards including the Yokohama Pole Award, DirtFish Rookie of the Year, Hard Charger, and Most Improved Driver, each of which comes with a $100 cash bonus at the end of the season.
The full driver roster with teams is below:
No. |
Driver |
Team |
2020 Finish |
| 00 | Johannes Vähänen | Loenbro Motorsports | Rookie |
| 06 | Beau Albert | Logitech G Altus Esports | 19th |
| 2 | Garrett Manes | Elliott Sadler eSports | 10th |
| 12 | Josh Fox | Hansen Williams Esports | 6th |
| 13 | Jakob Rafoss | Vermont SportsCar | Rookie |
| 14 | Luis Núñez | Logitech G Altus Esports | Rookie |
| 15 | Alex Bergeron | Jim Beaver eSports | 30th* |
| 18 | Killian Dall’olmo | SET Esports Team GRX | 16th |
| 20 | Matt Bussa | Ed Carpenter Racing | 26th* |
| 21 | Louis Lejeune | Ed Carpenter Racing | Rookie |
| 22 | Rasmus Tuominen | SET Esports Team GRX | 11th |
| 30 | Kevin Ellis Jr. | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | Rookie |
| 34 | Luke Crouse | Nitro Circus | 28th* |
| 44 | Jonne Ollikainen | SET Esports | 5th |
| 45 | Jake Robertson | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | 9th |
| 52 | Jarno Leskinen | Hansen Williams Esports | Rookie |
| 55 | Vicente Salas | Elliott Sadler eSports | 20th |
| 63 | Sindre Silva | Team Yokohama | 22nd |
| 64 | Thomas Wangen | Team Yokohama | Rookie |
| 71 | Aatu Hakalehto | Vermont SportsCar | Rookie |
| 77 | Quentin Dall’olmo | Kligerman Sport | Rookie |
| 83 | Tommi Nukarinen | Loenbro Motorsports | Rookie |
| 86 | Jon Robertson | Subaru Motorsports USA | 2nd |
| 87 | Tommi Hallman | SET Esports | 3rd |
| 90 | Yohann Harth | Subaru Motorsports USA | 1st |
| 92 | Toni Lähteenmäki | Jim Beaver eSports | Rookie |
| 99 | Marcos Matamoros | Kligerman Sport | 21st |
| 199 | Otto Taskinen | Nitro Circus | 13th |
*substitute/part-time driver in 2020
All-Star Invitational
The first All-Star round of the year will look quite different from past events. Real-world racing stars like NHRA champion Ron Capps and ARX2 champion Conner Martell will be joined by popular streamers like Quirkitized and GoProLopez, as well as top iRacing pros from other disciplines who are completely new to rallycross. A list of this week’s invitees is below; entries are subject to changes and additions:
No. |
Driver |
Car |
Background |
| 03 | Keenan Kusan | @MrAeroHD | Subaru | Twitch partner |
| 10 | Daniel Gray | @DanielGray10 | Ford | Twitch partner |
| 11 | Malik Ray | @CampaignRay | TBA | eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series |
| 13 | Trevor Perry | @PuckVanek | TBA | Twitch partner |
| 15 | Zac Campbell | Subaru | Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup |
| 21 | Conner Martell | Subaru | FIA World Rallycross RX2e |
| 28 | Ron Capps | VW | NHRA Camping World Series |
| 28 | Connor Barry | Subaru | Great American Short Course |
| 49 | Jamie Fluke | @JamieFluke | Subaru | Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup |
| 53 | Justin Melillo | Subaru | eNASCAR journalist, Traxion.GG |
| 75 | Landon Huffman | @HuffmanLive | Subaru | NASCAR Camping World Truck Series |
| 77 | Luke Knupp | Subaru | Best in the Desert |
| 85 | Mikey Lawrence | Subaru | SCORE World Desert Championship |
| 360 | Craig Williams | @CraigSetupShop | VW | Twitch |
| 504 | Pablo López | @GoProLopez | Ford | Twitch partner |
| 920 | Tyson Meier | @Quirkitized | TBA | Twitch partner |
How To Watch
New for 2021, iRX will be broadcast in four languages from the start of the season. Here’s where to tune in!
- English: iRacing Facebook, Twitch, YouTube
- Finnish: Finnish Sim Racing Association ry (FISRA)
- French: BenjxMotors
- Norwegian: Norwegian SimRacing Channel
Image via Beau Albert
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